Stage 1: Optimising Storefront Window Displays to Attract Customers
Previously the sole domain of online and e-commerce retailers, traditional brick-and-mortar retailers are increasingly recognising the essential roles that comprehensive data analytics and technology play in the success of their businesses. From the moment customers walk past the storefront window displays, the customer’s in-store journey kicks off; and with it, the consumer’s expectation of a dynamic, personalised, and engaging in-store experience.
Serving as the first point of visual contact between a physical retail store and its potential customers, a storefront window plays a significant role in creating a positive first impression, representing what your store has to offer and the type of experience customers can expect. This makes it an essential aspect of the customer journey. According to Scott Matthews, Head of Retail Analytics at Moving Tactics, South Africa’s leading digital signage solutions company, it is essential that storefront window displays are integrated with digital screens and retail analytics. “When we pair digital signage screens with retail analytics tools, such as footfall counters, audience measurement, and sensor technologies, we enable retailers to display dynamic content and create high-impact, visually appealing data-driven window displays that entice shoppers. These displays not only attract the attention of passers-by and draw them into the store but also provide traditional bricks-and-mortar retailers with real-time insights on customer behaviour and their interactions with screen content.”
As the first step in the customer journey, Storefront Window Displays offer an ideal opportunity for retailers to start gathering information and data about their customers that can be used to optimise store performance. These tools include:
- Footfall Counters – Footfall counters, also known as people counting technologies, provide key information by tracking the number of people entering and leaving your store. Retailers can measure the effectiveness of above-the-line marketing activities, as well as the impact of window displays on conversions, and accurately calculate sales conversion rates by week, day, or hour.
- Audience Measurement tools provide retailers with measurable data to understand their in-store audience. By using cameras (PoPIA Compliant) attached to digital signage screens in storefront window displays, these tools enable retailers to measure how passers-by and customers interact with screen content. They gather data on the number of viewers, their gender and age, attention time, opportunities to view the content, and customer emotion at the time of viewing. Additionally, they allow retailers to compare data across different stores and regions, helping them measure the effectiveness of their window displays and adjust their marketing initiatives accordingly.
Moreover, both footfall counters and audience measurement tools can capture customer data not only as customers enter the store but also within specific zones inside the store, allowing for comprehensive collection of customer macro data.
Brick-and-mortar retailers can now access similar analytical data and capabilities as online retailers so that they’re able to make informed decisions that drive sales and enhance the customer experience. Moving Tactics Retail Analytics Solutions, as the official reseller of Sensmi in Southern Africa, an in-store data analytics platform that transforms data into valuable insights via a comprehensive user-friendly dashboard, collects and analyses data from multiple sources. Integrated with Sensmi, this advanced solution also enables retailers to optimise every touchpoint of the in-store customer journey, starting with their storefront windows.
By tracking various key metrics such as foot traffic, opportunities to see, convergence and dwell time, brick-and-mortar retailers can measure the performance of their digital window displays in real-time and use A/B testing to compare different window displays. By utilising these insights, retailers can enhance and optimise their storefront windows. When utilised with other technology sets in-store, which we’ll be discussing in a series of upcoming articles, Moving Tactics Retail Analytics Solutions gives retailers the opportunity to gain insights on engagement via product interactions and interaction time, and how this translates to sales. These insights are being used internationally to target marketing initiatives more effectively, create engaging and personalised shopping experiences, enhance the overall customer journey, and ultimately drive sales – all in real-time.
To learn more about Moving Tactics’ Retail Analytics Solutions, click here: https://movingtactics.co.za/retail-analytics/.